It is wonderful to be putting together this second edition of our
Department of Education Newsletter – and hard to believe how quickly
time has flown! I was reflecting the other day on my experience here in
Ireland over the past year and half. It strikes me as someone who has worked for many
years in the educational systems of both Canada and Sweden that Irish education is
no stranger to innovation. We in Maynooth are doing our best, along with you, to create
a place where education means something more than fulfilling a course of study.
When education is overly characterised in terms of training, testing, and measurement, we lose sight of its
truly transformational potential. Education is about creating conditions for people from all backgrounds
to live meaningful lives as full participants in society. This idea of education means taking risks and
experimenting with new pedagogies, courses, and research directions. It means thinking imaginatively about
our relationships and it means a willingness to try things out, evaluate them, and see what we can do better.
For us education is about building a strong educational community by focusing on bringing our creative
energies together. I like to think that in some small way our Department, in conjunction with the teachers,
principals, counsellors and students we work with, contributes in constructive ways to making education
better for all.
Over the past few months, our Department has been engaged in a range of activities that embody this spirit.
I just highlight a few of them here. You can read more fully about them within the next few pages - and
you might see some familiar faces in the pictures that accompany those stories as well! In collaboration
with co-operating teachers on our PME programme and the PDST, we have become more involved with
the practice of Team Teaching and organised a half day conference in Leixlip in February. Through our 3U
Partnership we hosted a very successful Leadership Symposium on March 5th with over 500 in attendance.
Bringing together educational professionals and activists, our Department held a tremendously innovative
event on LGBT issues in education in January, with presentations and performances from students, teachers
and senior administrators. In terms of programming, we have just launched a new flexible, modular-based
M.Ed. programme to begin in September, designed to fit the needs of professionals and built on cutting edge
research and ideas.
Please get in touch with us if you want to discuss developing links with our Department, or if you want to get a
better sense of any courses we offer. Our doors are always open!
Professor Sharon Todd
“
APRIL 2016
Newsletter of the Department of Education - passionate about all things educational!
newseducation
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At Maynooth University Department of Education, our courses can be largely divided into two main categories.
We offer a concurrent undergraduate BSc in
Maths and Science Education over a 5-year
period and a 2-year postgraduate Professional
Master of Education (PME). These courses
may be of interest to School Guidance
Counsellors as they support students to make
choices around their CAO. Further information
is available in the booklet opposite.
We also offer a wide range of courses for
all teachers to develop their professional
practice or to advance their careers within
the field of education. These include
postgraduate diplomas in management,
leadership and school guidance counselling,
a modular Masters programme, a Masters in
school guidance counselling and an M.Ed in
Innovative Learning; and further academic
study through M.Litt and PhD programmes.
We have a new modular design to the M.Ed
degree that allows you to undertake either a
specialism or general option of studies and
allows it to be undertaken at a pace that suits
your life. Further information is available in
the booklet opposite.
Integral to our work is our partnership with
post-primary schools that support our student
teachers on school placement. We would
like to thank all our partner schools for their
commitment to supporting student teachers
as they prepare for entry to the teaching
profession. Details on the school placement
arrangements and the benefits of facilitating a
student teacher from the Maynooth University
Department of Education can be found in the
flyer opposite.
Courses on Offer at Maynooth University Department of Education
A seminar was held on 22nd February 2016 to mark the culmination of the Maynooth University Department of Education and Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) team teaching research project.
The event was attended by close to 200 PME student teachers, principals,
deputy principals and co-operating teachers from partner schools of
Maynooth University, as well as educationalists with an interest in team
teaching.
Speakers at the seminar included Professor Sharon Todd (Maynooth
University), Ms Ciara O’Donnell (Director of the PDST), Dr Finn Ó Murchú
(UCC) and Mr. Tomás Ó Ruairc (Teaching Council). PME student teachers
(Charmaine Dowling, David Lee, Jack Colgan and Rachel Dudley McEvoy)
who have engaged in team teaching while on school placement and who are
undertaking a group thesis on students’ attitudes and perceptions to team
teaching also provided an insightful input to participants. The centrepiece of
the seminar was poster presentations by close to 40 PME student teachers
and their co-operating teachers outlining their experiences of team teaching
and the learning they have distilled from these experiences.
The seminar also included the screening of a clip from a recently produced
video on team teaching that has been filmed in two post-primary schools,
St. Mary’s Academy CBS, Carlow and Curragh Camp Post-primary School,
Co. Kildare. This video, with footage of team teaching taking place and
commentary from principals, teachers, student teachers and second level
students, is part of a larger video project about team teaching that seeks to
address the dearth of video footage about team teaching in an Irish context.
It will be an excellent resource for schools considering the introduction or
development of team teaching in their schools.
There was a fantastic atmosphere of learning, collaboration and sharing
evident on the day. Presentations from the seminar, the team teaching video
and all of the posters are available at www.pdst.ie/teamteaching.
Team Teaching Seminar
From left to right: Dr Thomas Walsh (Maynooth University), Mr Will Donnelly (PDST), Ms Rachel Farrell (PDST), Charmaine Dowling (PME student teacher), Jack Colgan (PME student teacher), David Lee (PME student teacher), Rachel Dudley McEvoy (PME student teacher), Ms Angela Rickard (Maynooth University), Professor Sharon Todd (Maynooth University), Ms Ciara O’Donnell (PDST) and Dr Celine Healy (Maynooth University).
Students and participants discuss their posters and experiences of team teaching.
On Saturday, March 12th, Maynooth University Department of Education, in collaboration with the Post-Primary Languages Initiative, organised another highly successful CPD event for teachers of modern foreign languages (MFL).
This event, entitled Digital Tools in MFL
Teaching and Learning, was a follow-up to last
year’s Tablets and Apps in MFL Teaching and
Learning. Once again centring on a bottom-up
approach to CPD, it featured a series of hands-
on workshops for language teachers led by language teachers. It brought
together post-primary teachers of Chinese, French, German, Italian,
Japanese, Polish, Russian and Spanish to share their expertise.
Modern Languages Teachers
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Maynooth University Education Department at FaSMEd Consortium Meeting in South AfricaIn February 2016 Dr Majella Dempsey and Ms Niamh Burke of the Department of Education at Maynooth University travelled to Muizenberg, South Africa for the third consortium meeting of the FaSMEd Project.
FaSMEd is a three year, €1.9M project led by Newcastle University looking at
how technology can support formative assessment practices in mathematics
and science. Working with partners across eight countries and with clusters
of schools, researchers are working on the use of formative assessment and
technology to improve interactions in the classroom and reduce the anxiety
about performance that frequently limits learners’ development in these
subjects.
Majella and Niamh presented the work they completed in Ireland at the
meeting in Muizenberg, which comprised of using a variety of technologies
including iPads, data loggers and various tablet applications to promote
effective assessment practice among teachers and with students in schools.
School visits in the surrounding areas of Cape Town to observe mathematics
and science lessons formed part of this meeting. The schools visited included
those situated in disadvantaged communities (townships) as well as semi-
private and independent (private) schools. Lessons were observed in schools
with varying facilities and levels of academic attainment. A member of the
African Institute for Mathematical Sciences or a South African FaSMEd
teacher accompanied partners to schools and provided insights into the
South African education system. In the Fish Hoek High School mathematics
and science lessons were conducted in very well equipped classrooms
where teachers made use of card matching exercises to gauge student
understanding. In contrast in the Manzomthombo high school (located
in a township on the outskirts of Muizenberg), teachers taught science
and mathematics in classrooms with little to no equipment teaching, only
with a board. Despite the lack of equipment very rich cooperative learning
experiences were observed in classes with in excess of 50 students.
Valuable insights were gained from the trip to South Africa and the findings
of the FaSMEd project as well as teacher and student resources in relation to
technology and formative assessment will be available on a toolkit website
later this year.
For more information on FaSMEd see http://research.ncl.ac.uk/fasmed/
or contact Majella Dempsey ([email protected]) or Niamh Burke
([email protected]) from the Department of Education at Maynooth
University.
Maths lesson in ManZomthombo, South Africa.
Science Classroom in the Vuyiseka High School, South Africa.
FaSMEd Partners at False Bay College, Muizenberg, South Africa.
Leading Change as a Professional New e-book on Leadership and the Practitioner VoiceAvailable very shortly on the Department
of Education Maynooth University website
(https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/
education/), a new leadership publication
based on the experiences of practitioners
who are graduates of the Department of
Education (PGDEL) (Tóraíocht) programme
and leadership programmes at the
Institute of Leadership at RCSI, with
contributions from Professor John West-
Burnham, Professor Áine Hyland,
Mr. Tomás Ó Ruairc and many others.
Make sure to download your free copy!
3U Leadership Symposium Leading the Pursuit of Quality
The 4th annual 3U Leadership Symposium took place on Saturday 5th March at Maynooth University
Over 400 delegates from education,
healthcare and business were in
attendance from the Department of
Education at Maynooth University,
RCSI and DCU.
Keynote contributors included;
Professor Kathryn Riley, Institute of
Education, London, Dr. Harold Hislop,
Chief Inspector, Dr. Sean Ruth,
Consultant and Mr. John Farrelly,
Deputy Chief Inspector, HIQA.
NOVEMBER 2015PAGE 3
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Development Education Week 2015
Prof. Vanessa Andreotti from the University of British Columbia delivers an address to staff and students during DevEd week
Year 1 PME students show their creativity during DevEd week! Back row (left to right): Siobhan Kieran, Naomi Pierce, Kelly Ryan. Christine Healy and Steven McMahon. Front row (left to right): Daryl Dunne and Jim Power.
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This year with the advent of the two-year Professional Master in Education (PME), Development Education Week was extended from three to four days. In addition to the traditional three day DevEd week on campus for the PME year 1 students, we also organised a day off campus in Carlow for the Year 2 students.
On Monday 16th November teachers Joe Clowry from St Mary’s Academy,
Carlow and Eleanor Lee from Coláiste Bhríde Carnew created a suite of
workshops that were deliverd by combined groups of pupils from each of the
two schools. The same groups also came to Maynooth on Wedensday to work
with the PME Year 1 group.
In the afternoon of the Monday and courtesy of WorldVision Ireland we
screened four episodes from the film Girl Rising (2013). This critically
acclaimed film follows the life stories of nine extraordinary girls who struggle
every day for freedom, education and a voice.
To finish the day in Carlow we were delighted to welcome Dr. Garrett Campbell
and Tony O’Rourke, who presented the work of the GlobalSchoolroom
(www.globalschoolroom.net). With the help of Irish volunteer teachers Global
Schoolroom has been delivering a teaching diploma in North East India for
the past eight years.
Back in Maynooth from Tuesday to Thursday that week the PME Year
1 students were introduced to DevEd through a rich programme of
workshops and lectures. Workshops were designed and delivered by a range
of Development Education partners including: Jennifer Harris (Waterford One
World Centre), Vicky Donnelly (Galway One World Centre), Claire Marshall
(Concern Worldwide), Sian Crowley (Debt and Development Coalition Ireland),
Lizzy Noone (WorldWise Global Schools), Aoife Titley (Maynooth University &
DICE Coordinator) and Lydia McCarthy (Trócaire).
One of the outstanding features of DevEd week in Maynooth over the past
number of years has been the involvement of second level pupils. In addition
to having the pupils from St. Mary’s Academy, Carlow and Coláiste Bhríde,
Carnew, mentioned above, we were delighted to welcome pupils from
Portmarnock Community School, from Collinstown Park Community School,
Clondalkin and from Coláiste Bríde, Clondalkin. With a combined total of
around 60 pupils leading no fewer than 14 workshops using active
methods and innovative technology they demonstrated not only outstanding
teaching skills but also a passionate commitment to human rights and social
justice education. This was a source of considerable inspiration for the PME
students and we are very grateful to the all the teachers and pupils who put
so much work into the preparation of these workshops.
A central aspect of DevEd week in Maynooth is the creativity that the
PME students themsleves show when asked to think about how they would
integrate DevEd into their own teaching. To enable them
to conjure up new ideas and to work together this year we called on artist
Deirdre Rogers and four other colleagues from ReCreate Ireland
(www.recreate.ie) namely: Genevieve Hardden, Anne Cradden, Mark Holburn
and Deirdre O’Reilly. Located in venues stretching across the campus and
beyond (!) Wednesday afternoon saw students work in small collaborative
groups to produce a ‘creative response’ to what they had been learning over
the previous day and a half. Their work was exhibited in the Iontas Foyer for
a week or so afterwards so other groups could enjoy the astonishing artwork
they produced in such a short length of time!
Some further highlights of the week were the keynote presentations: on
Tuesday to start the week Professor and Head of Department Dr. Sharon
Todd spoke to the theme of “Glocalisation & Education” while
on Wednesday morning we were honoured to welcome to Maynooth Prof.
Vanessa Andreotti from the University of British Columbia. Dr. Andreotti
also generously gave her time to work with teachers and Maynooth staff. On
Thursday a panel including another international guest Barnabas Mwansa
(Barnabas Research & Training Institute, Zambia), Meliosa Bracken (PhD
student in Maynooth University) and Mr. Mirza Ćatibušić (a member of the
Bosnian Community in Ireland), offered their insights about development
issues from their experience as educators in different settings.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank a number of PME students
whose help as volunteers was an invaluable addition to the running of the
week. Our volunteers were: Ancel Boyce, Alison Lynch, Sean Stoll, Siobhan
Kieran, Steven McMahon, David Doyle, Caitriona Graham, Brian Waters,
Mallory Gaffney, Laura Foley, Ian Carney, Megan O’Donohoe Tunney and Mark
Heffernan.
Development Education Week is supported by Irish Aid under the auspices
of the Ubuntu Network and the international speakers we welcomed
this year were funded with support from the UNI-DEV project in the
Kimmage Centre for Development Studies.
Opening Conversations was held on Friday 29th January 2016. Host to around 120 school leaders, teachers and guidance counsellors as well as educators from many institutions and associations, this event was as celebratory as it was informative and characterised by an openness to share the stories from school concerning LGBT experiences of inclusion.
The event was prompted by the national conversation concerning the Marriage
Equality referendum in the past year and by a perception that schools,
while being open to having honest conversations about equality, do not feel prepared for the changes in legislation and policy concerning LGBT issues. Our
aim was to contribute to schools’ existing efforts to support creative, sensitive
and especially student-centered approaches to inclusion in their schools.
For our own part in the Department of Education we wanted to demonstrate
our openness to having this conversation with and for our own students and
the event has enabled us to link with many people involved in research, policy
and practice in this area in Ireland in order to do that in the coming months
and years. As a collaborative effort within the department it was in itself a
new departure and involved a committee made up of many staff members
(and a PhD student) in the department including: Ms. Angela Rickard (Chair),
Dr. Delma Byrne, Dr. Bernie Grummell, Mr. Seán Henry, Mr Anthony Malone,
Dr. Grace O’Grady and Dr. Thomas Walsh as well as Dr. Fergus Ryan from the
Department of Law.
Following the official welcome from the President of Maynooth University Prof.
Philip Nolan and the Head of the Department of Education Prof. Sharon Todd,
we were delighted to introduce a distinguished alumnus of our department,
politician John Lyons TD. John, whose own honesty and openness in the
national media about the impact of homophobic bullying on him, shed light
on the ways dominant narratives in society can hurt young people: simply
acknowledging that some people don’t fit the assumed heterosexual story
can be radical in itself and he made the point that inclusion favours not only the otherwise marginalised but improves life for everyone.
Before the coffee break in the morning we moved from speeches to a ‘fireside’
conversation with a panel and tried to evoke the idea of the many kitchen table,
living room conversations that Irish people have had in the past 12 months.
Speaking with some of the key people involved in the Marriage Equality
campaign, Ms. Angela Rickard explored the implications that changes in the
constitution and other legislative reforms have for schools. She discussed
these with Dr. Gráinne Healy, co-director of the Marriage Equality Campaign,
Dr. Fergus Ryan, law lecturer and co-founder of the Lawyers for Yes and Ms.
Sandra Irwin-Gowran, Director of Educational Policy Change in GLEN (Gay
and Lesbian Equality Network).
Coincidentally, just the day before saw the launch by the Minister of Education
Jan O’Sullivan of the Being LGBT in School resource for schools that
Sandra coordinated. https://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Education-
Reports/Being-LGBT-in-School.pdf
Following the conversations over coffee and tea in the Iontas Foyer the
parallel sessions before lunch were billed as workshops and allowed
participants to explore ideas and creative lessons from and for schools.
The sessions led by second level students were exceptionally well received
and we were delighted to have Transition Year boys from Moyle Park School,
Clondalkin with their teacher Mr Eóin Houlihan. A number of the members
the SPECTRUM club in Mount Temple Comprehensive School, Malahide Road
were also hugely popular and widely and deservedly praised for their input.
Other workshops included a creative writing workshop by Nicole O’Rourke
from Big Smoke Writing Factory, another led by writer Debbie Thomas and a
performance workshop offered by theatre maker Peter Hussey. The morning’s
suite of workshops also included a session led by Youth Coordinator John
Ruddy from Dundalk Outcomers who explored understandings of LGBT
issues and shared resources that would be useful for schools engaging in
CPD in this area. Finally, teacher and part-time lecturer Michelle Stowe led a
session on Restorative Practice.
The sessions after lunch focused on the area of policy and included
presentations from teachers Vicky Stokes and Kelly McGrath as well as
parent Karen Farrell from Castleknock Community College (CCC) who charted
the college’s journey in relation to inclusion and provided insightful and
practical advice for school leaders seeking to support transgender children
make a smooth and enjoyable gender transition. Elsewhere Dr. Declan
Fahie presented his research about LGBT teachers in second level schools
while Karen O’Shea and Dr. Mary Gannon (collectively known as Uaisleacht)
presented a range of resources to support conversations about equality in
schools. Meanwhile, a series of Roundtable discussions took
place that focused on school leaders, management bodies and unions as
well as a separate session aimed at supporting the politics of care in School
Guidance and Counselling.
Our final plenary conversation sought to explore new conversations and
included a panel chaired by Professor Todd and including Sam Blanckensee,
Danny Tynan (founder of the SPECTRUM club in Mount Temple) and well
known educator and equality activist Dr. Mary Gannon.
The day – a busy one indeed – culminated in an outstanding ‘staged reading’
and discussion of the play Citizenship by Mark Ravenhill which was
performed by the Kildare Youth Theatre under the directorship of Peter
Hussey.
The full programme for the Opening Conversations event can be found here: (https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/education/news/opening-conversations-achieving-equality-lgbt-people-irish-schools-friday-29th-january-2016)
Opening Conversations: Achieving Equality for LGBT people in Irish Schools
From left to right: Ms. Sandra Irwin-Gowran (GLEN), Dr Fergus Ryan (Maynooth University), Ms Angela Rickard (Maynooth University), Dr. Gráinne Healy (Marriage Equality), Mr. John Lyons (TD), Prof. Sharon Todd (Maynooth University) and Prof Philip Nolan (Maynooth University).
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Students from the SPECTRUM club in Mount Temple Comprehensive School deliver an insightful workshop to participants. From left to right: Dan O’Connor, Catherine Grogan, Danny Tynan, Seán Talbot and Niamh Cuddy.
Activities from Partner Schools
Empower: LMETB Inspiring Global Citizens Yvonne Myles, Year 2 PME
On the 24th of
November 2015, I
was delighted to be
part of the first Louth
Meath Education and
Training Board (LMETB)
Student Meet which
took place in Athboy, Co.
Meath. The event was
organised by Sinead
Edmonds, Aideen Flood
and the Development
Education Committee
of St. Peter’s College,
Dunboyne, of which I am a member. Guest speakers included Liz Lavery
(Education Officer of LMETB) and Peter Kearns (CEO of LMETB), as well as
Education Consultant Conor Harrison and Patsy Toland of Self Help Africa.
Angela Rickard, an advocate of Development Education from Maynooth
University, was also in attendance.
Students and teachers from all over the Louth-Meath area got the chance
to attend workshops and exhibitions that highlighted global issues and to
consider the 17 Global Goals (http://www.globalgoals.org/). The event also
allowed attendees to learn and share innovative ways to empower young
people and inspire action. A wonderful and inspiring day was had by all.
Ms Edmonds, Ms Flood and the Dev Ed Committee are already planning for
next year. EMPOWER2016 will take place in Maynooth University on Friday,
9th September 2016. The day will see TY students from across the Louth
Meath ETB join with student teachers in Maynooth University to combine
their energies and ideas to learn about Development, Social Justice and
Human Rights. More power to them!
Designed to develop leadership skills amongst county Gaelic football, hurling, ladies football and camogie players, the Madden Leadership Programme is individually tailored to athletes performing at an elite level, with each student working with a professional life coach, addressing their development needs and helping them reach their personal goals.
The students will attend workshops in personal development, interpersonal
skills, and group skills, designed to assess their leadership strengths and
weaknesses. They also will attend a series of Leadership masterclasses
with experts from business, community, and sport which are designed to
explore the critical behaviours, attributes, and capabilities that foster key
leadership skills.
The accreditation pathway, leading to a qualification in professional
leadership, will be offered through the Department of Education at Maynooth
University, and has been designed to complement and enhance the student
experience. More details are available from Paula Kinnarney, Department of
Education ([email protected]).
Maynooth University Announces New Accreditation Pathway for GPA Madden Leadership Programme
Pictured at the launch (left to right): Mr Dessie Farrell (CEO, GPA), Ms Christine Barrett (Microsoft), Ms Mags D’arcy (Wexford camogie player), Professor Philip Nolan (President, Maynooth University), Mr Stephen McDonnell (Cork hurler), Mr Michael Madden (sponsor of the Jim Madden Leadership Programme), Ms Anna Geary (WGPA), Mr Noel Connors (Waterford hurler), Mr Dermot Earley (President, GPA) and Mr Paul Flynn (Secretary, GPA).
From left to right: Sinéad Edmonds (St. Peter’s College, Dunboyne), Liz Lavery (Education Officer, LMETB), Conor Harrison (Education Consultant) and Angela Rickard (Maynooth University).
Study Visit to Nicaragua February 2016 Andrew Keating, Year 2 PME
Between the 11th and 20th of February, I was part of a group of eight Irish
teachers (1 training primary, 1 training post-primary, 3 qualified primary
and three qualified post-primary), along with three Trócaire staff that took
part in a study visit to view Trócaire’s work in Nicaragua. It was a thoroughly
engaging, eye-opening and fulfilling experience that all of us hope we
can in some way replicate in our classrooms. The trip brought home the
effectiveness of Trócaire’s partnership approach in working for a just
world and left me re-energised by the enthusiasm, gratitude and above all,
warmness of the people.
More information about Trócaire’s work in Nicaragua and their partners can
be found at http://www.trocaire.org/whatwedo/wherewework/nicaragua
The study visit group with staff from Trócaire’s Nicaragua Office.
From left to right: Lydia McCarthy(Trócaire Ireland), Ann Marie Sweeney (Trócaire Ireland), David Salgado (Trócaire Nicaragua), Theresa Geaney, Johnny Tyndall, Ronie Zamor (Trócaire Nicaragua), Sinead Mongan, Martin Larrecochea (Country Director Trócaire Nicaragua), Micheal Kilcrann, Nadine Cosgrave, Shona Burke, Aoife McDermott, Lucia Medina (Trócaire Nicaragua), Andrew Keating, Jessenia Campos (Trócaire Nicaragua), Alfredo Soza (Trócaire Nicaragua).
Photo credit: Alan Whelan (Trócaire Ireland).
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Allergies and Anapens St Joseph’s College, Lucan
We went to Maynooth to discuss our project ‘Allergies and Anapens’ with
Dr Thomas Walsh and Dr Rose Dolan which aims to raise awareness about
the lack of knowledge that teachers have regarding allergies. Our aim is
to introduce a module to train teachers in how to deal with allergies and
allergic reactions. We feel that with the guidance of Thomas and Rose we
can develop our ideas further and take on board their expert advice.
You can contact us on [email protected]
Lunchtime Music Recitals Marc Oliver, Year 1 PME
This semester Marc Oliver , PME student of Maynooth University, in
conjunction with resident teachers Mr Ephrem Feely and Mr David Burke
are organising ‘Lunchtime Music Recitals’ in St Joseph’s Mercy Secondary
School, Navan, County Meath.
The Lunchtime recitals will start in May in the Music Room for all year
groups. This is an opportunity for students to perform for staff and fellow
students in a friendly lunchtime setting.
Auditions will take place on Mondays between 1pm and 2pm in the
Music Room and there will be 3 acts/performers per recital, with each
performance lasting approximately 3 to 5 minutes.
Supervision will be by members of the music department on the day of the
events and flyers for each recital will be posted throughout school.
Activities from Partner Schools continued
Five Nations Network Conference Sinéad McCarthy, Year 2 PME
In early November, I was given the privilege
of being the only student teacher in
Ireland that was selected to participate in
the Five Nations Network Conference in
Cardiff, Wales. The conference facilitates
educators from Ireland, Northern Ireland,
England, Scotland and Wales to meet and
to share resources and ideas based around
citizenship education and values on an
annual basis.
As part of my involvement with the
network, my students in Scoil Mhuire Trim
and I planned and completed a project which was aimed at discovering
the truth about asylum seekers and refugees’ experiences in Ireland. My
students produced fantastic work and I was very proud to present their
achievement in front of my colleagues at the conference.
I wish to extend a special thank you to; Conor Harrison who is my C.S.P.E
lecturer at Maynooth University. Conor selected me to participate in the
conference and I am very grateful to him for involving me such an enjoyable
and educationally rich experience. I would also like to thank Rose Dolan for
welcoming me to participate in the experience and for being so helpful to me.
It is an experience that I thoroughly enjoyed and one which I will never forget.
Sinead McCarthy, PME Year two student teacher of English and CSPE at Maynooth University.
Back row left to right: Our teacher (Abina), Laura Morgan, Hannah Murphy, Eimear Murphy. Front row left to right: Soraly Nzanga, Aoife McAuley, Eleni O’Dwyer, Thomas Walsh (Maynooth University).
Unicef Ireland UReport Youth Summit at Dublin Castle Printworks Yvonne Myles, Year 2 PME
On March 8th 2016, sixteen students from St. Peter’s College Dunboyne,
accompanied by Ms Yvonne Myles (Year 2 PME student teacher), were
among the first people in Ireland to become Unicef UReporters. Morning
sessions involved presentations on issues such as gender equality,
inequality, mental health and the 17 Global Goals. David Beckham, amongst
others, backed the initiative and gave a pre-recorded message to all
participants. After lunch students took part in workshops creating their
own campaigns around the set topics. We had a fabulous day and I was
very proud of all the students from St. Peter’s who now have formed a new
Social Justice group. #iamaUreporter @UReportIRL.
Pictured from left to right: Kerri-Ann McQuaid, Ms. Yvonne Myles, Rachel Kavanagh, Cindy Takyi
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St Mary’s School, Baldoyle at Emmanuel 2016 Andrew Hamilton, PME student teacher
St. Mary’s School for Girls, Baldoyle joined 600 other students for
Emmanuel 2016 which took place in The Helix, DCU on 3 March 2016.
Emmanuel is a concert of liturgical music led by Ian Callanan. It fuses
63 schools together to perform over 4 nights with over 2,400 students
performing in total. Schools receive their scores in music class and these
are practised throughout the year. It was an enjoyable few weeks where I
conducted and co-conducted rehearsals on the piano, guitar and CD, along
with performing alongside the students on the night. The students of St.
Mary’s School for Girls, Baldoyle were thrilled to be a part of such a huge
event and performed with great capability, talent and enthusiasm.
Teaching with Different Abilities James Cawley, Year 2 PME
“Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congentia (AMC) is a physical disability which
affects my upper, lower limbs and spinal cord confining me to a wheelchair.
My parents and family have always treated me as one of the 9 siblings. I
definitely think this has shaped me into the person I am today. I entered MU
through the DARE scheme and I have been supported through the Maynooth
access programme which has allowed me to live and lead an active student
life both academically and socially.
My advice for anyone faced with a challenge is to identify the challenge
and source a solution to that “problem”. University is a hub of help waiting
to be availed of, so ask for help, it’s a real strength being able to identify
difficulties”.
Activities from Partner Schools continued
Judging the SciFest Schools Competition Laura Shiels & Lisa Griffin, BSc student teachers
On Tuesday the 1st of March, we were invited to The Kings Hospital
Secondary School in Palmerstown to take on the role of judging at the
SciFest Schools competition. SciFest Schools competition allows second
level students to prepare and present their scientific investigations. Judging
at SciFest has allowed us to see how valuable such activities are to both
the students and staff alike. On viewing the various projects it was evident
how enthusiastic and creative the students were about the task. We feel
this creativeness and willingness to explore science should be nurtured in
contemporary science classes. The Best Project Award was awarded to an
innovative project called ‘An Investigation into the effect of flooding on or
around local soil quality’. Judging at SciFest was a fantastic experience and
we would highly recommend taking part if given the opportunity.
We would like to say a special word of thanks to the staff of The Kings
Hospital Secondary School for inviting us, and to Sheila Porter, the CEO
of SciFest.
NCCA Award Winner Kevin Donohoe, Year 2 PME
The Research and Development
Programme 2015/16 has been established
by the National Council for Curriculum and
Assessment to support knowledge of,
engagement with and critical reflection
on educational assessment theory and
practice. A particular focus is placed on
proposals relevant to the junior cycle
of post-primary education, but also
assessment in early childhood, primary or
senior cycle education in Ireland.
My own research proposal was successful under the Masters strand and
will be based around designing assessment and associated resources for
the History curriculum and specifically aimed at the new Short Courses for
Junior Certificate. I aim to specifically look at the events before, during and
after 1916 in Ireland and a focus on trying to design new ways of bringing
these key events to life in the History classroom.
From left to right: Ms. Sheila Porter (CEO, SciFest), Mr. Vincent Coldrick (SciFest Judge), Lisa Griffin (BSc student teacher), Laura Shiels (BSc student teacher).
James Cawley, Year 2 PME student and Secretary of the Arthrogryposis Association of Ireland, raising awareness about AMC.
Emmanuel is a project of the Dublin Diocesan Liturgy Resource Centre.
Kevin Donohoe, PME student teacher at Maynooth University. Kevin is undertaking his school placement in St Patrick’s College, Cavan Town.
NOVEMBER 2015PAGE 8
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